Conflicting Emotions
by Lil Miss Morningstar
Summary: After the events at Akzeriuth, Luke had come to fear Asch for good reason. The original was better than him at just about everything, and made sure to point out his shortcomings at every opportunity. This hostility only doubled when Luke had failed to receive the Jewel of Lorelei. Since then, Luke dreaded any contact he had with Asch… but for more reasons than one. (Asch/Luke yaoi)
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Greetings everyone. After a long period of laziness, I finally pushed myself to finish a story I had started quite some time ago. One good dusting off and plenty of error fixing later, I have this!**_

_**So, with a quick warning, yes this story will include Asch/Luke yaoi romance. If this ain't your sort of thing, please hit the back button in your browser. Thank you.**_

_**Now, on with the show!**_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of the Abyss._

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_Summary: After the events at Akzeriuth, Luke had come to fear Asch for good reason. The original was better than him at just about everything, and made sure to point out his shortcomings at every opportunity. This hostility only doubled when Luke had failed to receive the Jewel of Lorelei. Since then, Luke dreaded any contact he had with Asch… but for more reasons than just fear at being scolded by his original. _

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_~ Conflicting Emotions ~  
_

Keterburg was the vacation spot of choice for many people around the world. Known for its beautiful scenery, tranquil atmosphere, laid back shopping, fine dining, and plenty of things to do for the whole family. While the spa and the casino were some of the main attractions for the adults, the large playground in the center of town was the place to be for children. After all, where else could you put together a 20 vs. 20 snowball war? Naturally, even some of the not quite so young 'children' where hard pressed to resist the temptation of a good snowball fight.

For some sailors, Keterburg was the place to go to while their ships were getting fixed or upgraded at the port. Others made a living from buying wood and metals to sell back to the more inhabited continents. The whole island was covered with think forests and the rugged terrain made for some very high quality lumber and ore. Iron was particularly in abundance, and given the current state of unease and the potential of another war breaking out, Grand Chokma and Saint Binah needed to get as much Iron and Steel produced to defend themselves. Naturally, the weather was always something to watch out for, but when times were good, steady traffic could be seen coming through town and towards the port.

Other than that, there were few other reasons to go to the magical city. Observing and studying a Sephiroth tree was pretty much only on the minds of a select number of people.

For Luke and his friends, they were making a stop in town to analyze how the passage rings were holding up. Not surprisingly, most of that research was to be done by Jade, being that he knew what to make of the details. However he still needed Tear to open up the passage, Luke to control the ring itself (should something happen), and Guy to help out with the measuring devices. Anise and Natalia were still part of the group, and provided moral support, if nothing else, since neither lady had much skill with delicate machinery and fon tech.

The little expedition had proven to be fruitful. Not only did they get the measurements done, but they had found a Flightstone. As to be expected, Guy went into his fon tech mania, and went on and on about the possibilities of using that Flightstone on the Albiore. He even got all giddy when the group finally told the blond swordsman that he could go and personally install it once they got to town. The rest of the group... pretty much just zoned Guy out for the rest of the trip.

Other than Guy's ranting- pardon, Technically-Illuminating-Discussion-on-the-Inner-M echanics-of-the-Albiore, the trip had gone fairly smoothly. Fairly, because they also had a run in with a certain fuming red head God-General.

While Asch's perpetual foul mood was of no real surprise, running into him out in the middle of nowhere was. Unfortunately, Asch and his one track mind once again chewed out Luke for not receiving Lorelei's Jewel. But before Tear and Natalia could give Asch a piece of _their_ mind, the former God-General left, potentially saving all of them from one heck of a battle and/or, bringing down the whole mountain.

At least for all their sakes, the trip back to town was uneventful. Yes, even Guy finally shut up. However, Luke had said barely a peep since he got chewed out again by his original. Not even the group's pep talk snapped him out of this stupor.

Once they were all back in town, each member of the team went their separate ways. Jade had given off each person a key to their hotel room, since his dear sister had booked a room for each, before heading off to his personal room to analyze the information they got out of the passage ring. The 3 girls had decided that they would relax at the spa, (Yay for free passes, courtesy of Peony) for the rest of the evening, with a certain little blue cheagle in tow. Guy pretty much just made a beeline to the port to go give the Albiore some good old TLC and install the Flightstone. And that left Luke to his own devices.

Having nothing really to do, Luke opted to just wander around town. He had tried to kill some time at the poker tables in the casino, but luck was just not on his side that day. The red head opted to call it quits early before he went through better part of the group's finances. At least they were not really hurting for money at the moment, so he decided that he might as well restock on supplies for the team.

That was one of the nicer things of Keterburg: the shopping. They had some of the best selections of merchandise in the world, and since there were not that many people around, that meant less time fighting the crowds and an overall much more pleasant experience. On the other hand, any shopping trip where he didn't have Natalia trying to buy every pretty dress or piece of jewelry, or hounding him out while trying to get Luke to obtain and wear some for sophisticated clothing items, was a good shopping trip in his book. Plus, he could browse the weapons and armor freely. Even more goodness.

His first stop had been the item shops. Since the group had used up quite a lot of gels and a few other potions, those had been his first priority and stop. His next stop had been a small candy store, where he bought various sweets and treats for his friends, and two dozen assorted truffles that were not going to be mentioned to anyone else. (Everyone is entitled to have their own little secret candy stash, right?) After that he browsed a few more shops, but not really buying anything. His last stop was going to be the local blacksmiths.

If there was one downside to Keterburg, other than the freezing temperatures and weather, it was that all the snow wound eventually rust over anything made of metal. And after 2 days of trekking through ice and snow, his sword had lost its sharpness, and his armor was starting to get difficult to move around. While walking towards the modest shop, he contemplated if maybe he should have asked everyone else for their weapons and armor pieces to get them all repaired at the same time, but it would have been of no real use, since sundown was getting close and the stores would begin to close for the day. The rest of the group would have to come tomorrow morning. It didn't bother Luke all that much, since that also meant that he would be able to sleep in some.

Luke was about to reach for the shop's door when it opened in front of him. What greeted him was a familiar face. In fact, more than familiar, it has almost a mirror image.

"What the-?! What are you doing here Dreck?"

Queue in the ever-grumpy God-General. Asch the Bloody.

"A-Asch?" Luke stuttered and froze in place. Facing Asch with the rest of the group around him was one thing, but alone was a whole different story. The truth was that he was dead scared of his original. Believe it or not, Luke feared Asch far more than he feared Van.

"Honestly. I already ran into you once today and I still have to put up with you again?! Out of my way you useless reject!" All but roared the God-General at his replica.

Luke on the other hand, was frozen in terror. Asch knew very well that Luke feared him to no end. If the shaking mirror image in front of him wasn't enough of an indicator, he could also sense it through their mind link.

Maybe a little part of Asch enjoyed seeing his damnable replica quiver in fear. Served him right though, after all, Luke had stolen everything Asch had, even his name. Even if the once arrogant brat had turned into a scaredy-cat at the first sight of Asch, often half hiding behind either Guy or Jade while clutching that blue Cheagle, Mieu, for dear life, it still didn't mean Asch was about to forgive the brat and go give him a hug. Oh hell no. Asch would much rather jump off into a frozen lake buck naked than so much as hug the replica. If there was one thing Asch wanted to do, other than skewer Van for good this time, was to make Luke's life as miserable as possible even after he got his real name, title and family back.

As for Luke, he was a tangled up mess of emotions. Yes he feared his original, but there were so many other emotions attached to that train of thought. Given the chance, Asch would probably kill him in cold blood, (hence why the 7 year old red head would have such a difficult time trying to sleep when he was alone) and since there was no one really nearby, he might just have at it. Even if they were in a city, he hardly believed that was reason enough to stop the _real_ noble from going on a bloody rampage. The last time Asch had caught the group unaware had been one of Luke's most embarrassing moments. He had panicked and almost jumped right out his skin, grabbing hold of the nearest person for dear life. Unfortunately, said person just happened to be Jade and poor little Luke had somehow gotten a piggy back ride while nearly chocking the fabled necromancer. Naturally, Jade gave the red head hell for it (much to Asch's inner amusement), leaving Guy to help Luke walk the rest of the way.

But that was another place and another time. What mattered was the here and now. And right now, there was a certain, easily pissed off fon Fabre that was glaring more than just razor sharp daggers at Luke.

"Well?! Are you going to get out of my way or do I have to cut you down to make a way?!"

Luke squeaked and hastily stepped aside, giving Asch more than just room to walk. Oh heck no, Luke made sure we was more than a sword's reach away. Guy might be the quickest sword drawer Luke knew, but Asch was not too far away.

Seeing as how Luke responded with something more than just jittering, Asch closed the shop's door behind him (a little harder than needed) and started to walk away, casting a derogatory side glance at the jumpy replica.

Just as Asch was moving away, with a perpetual storm cloud over his head, Luke tried to extend his arm and to call out to Asch.

"Umm... A-Asch... er- wait, p-please..." unfortunately his little plea came out as little more than a whisper, not even really audible with the light wind blowing and the sounds of laughter and children playing not too far away. Luke had even so much as taken a small step forward, but quickly stepped back and his face went pale when Asch froze on the spot and turned to look around, hand already at his sword's hilt, ready to draw.

"Well what?" he said once again glaring at Luke. "If you got something to say, out with it!" Patience was never really one of Asch's strong suits. Neither had it been Luke's, or at least up until reality came crashing down on him not too long ago.

Despite the imminent promise of a painful death those dark emerald eyes had, Luke mustered what courage he could, which wasn't much, to at least speak out to his original.

"I... I have s-something... t-that I want t-t-to give y-y-you..." he finally said after swallowing some of his fear.

"If it's not the jewel, the forget it! I have no use nor need for you. Even if your little party goes around having camping trips, you are still only holding me back! Now thanks to your incompetence, I have twice as much work!" Asch nearly shouted out to the world, while walking back to Luke and grabbing hold of his shirt, putting both of them on eye level.

The wall behind him didn't help Luke any. Getting trapped between a cold stone wall and one fiery pissed off God-General spelled nothing short of a complete disaster.

"Last warning dreck, before I paint this wall with your guts. Now, What. Do. You. Want?"

As if that was going to help Luke's composure any, but at least it did get him a response.

"I-in my room, I have something t-that's yours. I've been trying to give it back b-but y-you've always run o-off..." Luke managed to say between squeaks from his latest fear attack, even if he was shaking more than a leaf in a middle of a rain storm.

Asch kept his grip firm on Luke's shirt and stared at him straight in the eyes as he spoke his answer. He remained quiet for a few seconds afterwards, as if analyzing what to do now. Or maybe he was just trying to decode the jumbled mess of weird noises and near undecipherable garble that was supposed to pass for speech. Maybe talking was now officially beyond the replica's capabilities.

As Luke quivered in Asch's grasp, the elder of the two never taking his eyes off from the younger, both remained in mostly silence. Mostly, being the key word, since Asch seemed to never be able to stop growling and Luke kept on whimpering. Luke just silently prayed that he wasn't about to get killed right there. He just hoped that his original was at least trying to think it over and maybe even accept the offer. But deep down, Luke knew better than to get too hopeful. This was Asch, after all, Sir grumpy-all-day & Lord of I'll-spill-your-guts.

After what felt like the longest minute in Luke's life, Asch finally pushed him back, hitting his back against the wall.

"Like I said before dreck. If you are not going to be handing me over the jewel, then forget it. Now this time, _stay _out of my way." Asch snarled at him before turning around and walked away.

At that point, Luke felt his knees give way, making him fall down on the snowy floor under him. Once held up by both arms, he finally let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding. Looking down on his hands, he realized just how scared he must have looked. His body still couldn't stop trembling, but at least he was finally starting to calm down. He only raised his sight when he heard Asch's footsteps resonate from the perfectly placed cobblestone walkways, no longer the _crunch-crunch _sound from stepping on snow. Even though his original was a few yards away by that point, Luke couldn't help but to say mostly to himself "Room's 408... 4th floor..." not even bothering to find out if the God-General had heard or not.

Once Asch was completely out of sight, his blood red long hair no longer swaying in the gentle wind, Luke allowed himself to break down. He still hadn't moved from his spot just off the sidewalk, half hidden under a nearby carefully manicured pine tree. Only now he moved just enough so that he was sitting, his legs folded and knees close to his chest, arms wrapped around his legs, and face hidden from view behind the thick cloth of his pants. At least now, when no one was around, he actually allowed himself to shed some tears.

It was becoming increasingly more frequent that Luke would break down like that after each confrontation with Asch. Even if he saw just a glance, or anything that looked anything remotely close to Asch in appearance, Luke was the first to bolt. Usually running down alleyways or escaping into the nearest building, and only coming out of hiding after an hour or so. Or until Guy found him and dragged him out. Only once had Jade been the one to drag him out, and that time had been at spear point. Then again, having freaked out and hid in Emperor Peony's private chambers probably earned that little treatment, even if Peony himself laughed and said Luke looked 'cute' while hugging his dear little Jade (the rappig) much like how a child would hold onto a stuffed animal or pillow when frightened. Oddly enough, that was indeed the case. Peony, taking sympathy on Luke after being filled in on the gravity of the situation, had made it up to Luke saying that he could come over and play with the rappigs anytime he wanted.

Those special little cases aside, the severity of the breakdown usually was determined by how bad the confrontation was with Asch. They could go anywhere between needing to hide for an hour or two, to being a complete nervous wreck and not being able to get a wink of sleep for a day, maybe two if it was bad. Unfortunately, even when Asch spoke... well more like ordered him, through their little mind link, those also counted towards having a mental breakdown. As for this episode, Luke was already kissing goodbye all hopes for a good night's rest for a whole week. At least since Guy was having a field day, working on the Albiore and all, he shouldn't get a repeat of his last severe breakdown. Let's just say that out of sheer fear, he had secretly gone over to Guy's room to bunk with him for the night, wishing that maybe being with someone he trusted would chase away the nightmares. Well, he never intended to climb into Guy's bed and fall asleep right on him. One could imagine the hell that broke out the next morning when Anise came crashing into the door to wake Guy up, only to see the shirtless blond having a familiar red head equally shirt-free sleeping on his chest, and both using each other as a full sized body pillow. (It just had to happen in Chesedonia, hadn't it.)

Oh the humanity.

After that... well, most of the group come to believe that the master and servant had a little something going on. And while Anise utterly enjoyed poking fun at the utterly embarrassed duo, Jade was the captain of that ship. Oh yes, he didn't let that little misadventure die anytime soon. Tear usually just blushed and tried to stay out of those conversations, or tried to change the topic politely. Natalia just ended up *assuming* that that was the reason why she could never get Luke to do anything romantic with her as well why Guy always had never shown any interest in women. And Guy… well at least he was a good sport about the whole ordeal and didn't bring up that topic, even if he was as embarrassed about the whole thing as Luke was.

From that point on, Luke was pretty much labeled as playing for the other team. Guy too for that matter.

Since then, both Fabre and Cecil had to endure the constant torment from that memorable moment, up until Jade had ended up dragging Luke out of his next bad breakdown. When Luke didn't move an inch while under a threat of getting blasted with multiple high tier fonic arts, Jade came to realize the severity of the problem and finally stopped with his antics (much to Anise's displeasure). After that, both got a little more breathing room to their much needed relief.

But back to the present, where Luke was sitting in the snow crying silently save for the occasional sniffle and hic up. He didn't know how long he had remained like that until someone had spoken up to him.

"You all right there, son?"

Even though the speaker asked rather quietly as was soft spoken, Luke recoiled back faster than Guy usually did when a woman got close. Apparently he jumped back so much he hit his head on the nearby wall, a high pitched squeak escaping his lips, while an explosion of random shapes and colors blinded his eyesight. A quick shake of his head and a hand quickly going up to cover the sore spot later, Luke turned to see the person that had addressed him.

It turned out to be a woman. Her graying hair tied up in a messy bun, and a kind yet tired face showed that she was up in her years, but not completely an old crone. Her broad frame showed that she still had strength in her arms, and she showed no cane to help her walk. At first glance, Luke placed her in her 50's, or maybe early 60s at most. But perhaps the oddest part of the woman was the heavy and thick leather apron and gloves she wore. Appearance aside, her face showed great concern and a tint of worry. That's when Luke finally remembered to respond.

"Oh... Sorry. Y-yes, I'm... okay."

"You don't look quite okay to me." responded the lady, offering Luke a hand to help him stand up. "Was it that young man with the long red hair?"

Luke winced at the mention of Asch, but took the older woman's hand all the same. "We... don't really get along." he responded as he pushed the snow off this clothing, never quite looking at the woman in the eyes.

"Sounded like a fight was about to break out young man. I'm just glad no one got really hurt." Internally, Luke would beg to differ, but he kept shut on that little tidbit of info. "My, you two do look a lot alike. Are you related?" asked the older lady after giving Luke a once over, checking to make sure he didn't have any injuries. However, the resemblance was uncanny for the woman.

"Er... yes." responded Luke while looking away. What was he to say? That he was a replica? That was a near sure fire way to rouse up suspicions. Asch would give him hell if he so much as suggested that they were twins or siblings.

"If I had guessed any better, the two of you could pass off as twins. But I will guess that that's a touchy subject for you." She smiled sweetly at Luke, much like any proud granny would at children. From his side, Luke was grateful the woman didn't press on as to what was the connection between himself and Asch. "Now, before that little squabble started, it looked to me that you were about to enter the shop. Did you need something dear?"

That suddenly reminded Luke as to why he was there to begin with. He wanted to get his equipment repaired! He frantically moved out of his hiding spot to check if the sun was still up. To his dismay, the last few rays of the sun could barely be seen in the horizon, meaning that the shops where closing. '_Oh no! I must have zoned out for a long time!' _

"I was going to the blacksmithing shop to get some things fixed... but now I won't make it." He responded dejectedly to the kind woman. He owed the lady at least a straight answer for being nice to him.

"Well come on dear, I haven't closed the shop yet. Let's see what it is that you want fixed." Smiled the woman as she started walking.

"W-wait what?" Luke's jaw almost hit the floor. This old lady was the blacksmith?!

"Oh now really dear. You thought this old thick apron was for baking?" asked the woman smiling, half turning towards Luke while patting the side of her leather apron. Bashfully, Luke had to admit, that thing was far too heavy duty for kitchen work. "I might let my son do most of the work now, but even he still needs some teaching every now and then."

Dumfounded and blushing badly in embarrassment, Luke quietly followed the woman. '_I guess the world is still full of surprises._'

Once inside the shop, Luke came to realize that what the woman had said was true. She was the original head Blacksmith of the town, but she was getting close to retiring. The cozy interior and the smell of various cleaning oils next to a well light fireplace did wonders to sooth his fears. Soon the old lady called out for her son and inquired Luke about what he was looking for. A quick review of Luke's equipment later, the woman deemed that Luke's sword would require some tempering to strengthen it. Whoever had been the original maker did not intend it to be used in the harsh cold winter that Keterburg was known to offer. The process would require several hours, so the red head would have to come back during the day time for it. Luke did however find a short sword to his liking and decided to purchase it and keep it as a spare._ 'Might as well have something to defend myself since my sword needs repairs.' _Luke's armor required only minor fix ups, and that was quickly done on the spot. After thanking both mother and son for their services, and paying his due, Luke made his way back to his room.

Once outside, the little red head could once again see Keterburg's night time charm. Even with snow gently falling over him, the gentle glows from fireplaces seen through windows and the many street lamps and various lights brought out a certain serenity to the city. Few people wondered about at that time, but something about the whole set up of the city was just... magical. Almost made Luke want to dance away his worries to the whisper of the winds.

Almost. Since he was starting to freeze his butt off.

Chuckling at himself for such silly little thoughts, the young noble made a run for the hotel. He decided that a warm meal and a hot shower were his top priorities for the rest of the day. Then to cuddle up inside some nice fluffy pillows and cozy blankets.

The hotel might have not been cheap, but they sure knew how to spoil people. The restaurant was full with patrons, but Luke didn't mind sharing a table with an elderly couple. One hearty bowl of Beef and Vegetable stew later, Luke felt ready to hit they hay.

Once back in his room, Luke wondered if everyone was back in their rooms yet. Guy most likely wasn't, but everyone else probably was. It felt odd to have a room all to himself. Almost felt like it was way too big for him. An odd comment, considering he technically still lived in a mansion. But in truth, the room wasn't exactly all that big. This type of room was probably used mostly by single travelers, being only one bed, a couch, a desk with matching chair, an armoire to place one's clothes in, and one adjacent bathroom. Well, you could probably fit two people in the bed if you really wanted to, maybe one more person on the couch, but that was about as many people as you could fit in that room. On a second thought, it might also double up as a love suite. Maybe that was the reason they each got their own rooms, to escape any potential misunderstandings. As long as Luke didn't get another repeat of Chesedonia, he was fine with it. Heaven forbid he would unconsciously snuggle up to one of his team members. Again. A shiver when down Luke's spine at the very thought of that happening.

Pushing away any chaotic scenarios out of his mind, Luke walked over to where he had left his wingpack, pulling out his warm set of night clothes. Like hell he would sleep in just his undershirt and boxers. Along with his clothes, he grabbed a few other personal items and made his way to the bathroom.

Nothing felt more like heaven than taking a nice warm bath after a long cold day outside. Normally Luke would shy away from using the provided bottle of bubble bath, but heck, he was alone, and no one had to know. So grinning mischievously, he pulled the top off and poured part of the bottle just under the faucet. Dammed if it was girly, but it sure felt nice. Luke could very well feel the water soothe away all his aches and pains. _If it wasn't so late, I'd probably go up to the spa and ask for a massage. _The red head grinned inwardly to himself.

After all, what was it now... maybe a year, since this whole little adventure had started, and much of that year had gone by camping under the stars. When Tear had just whisked him away that fateful day, he didn't even know what a sleeping bag or bedroll was. Those first few nights had been horrible for Luke, who had been pampered and pretty much spoiled rotten up until then. So times like this when he could allow himself some indulge in a few luxuries were few and far between. And all the more reason to make the best out of them.

However, all good things must come to an end, and once Luke realized that the total amount of bubbles had diminished significantly, he decided it was high time to finish up and get out. Well that, and maybe the water starting to get cold. 20 minutes later, one squeaky clean Luke already wearing his pj's was out of the bathroom.

After folding up his dirty clothing and placing it aside, Luke placed the rest of his items back in his backpack, only pulling out a single brush. His hair might not be long anymore, but it still could become a tangled mess if he didn't comb through it once in a while, mainly, after baths or showers. Besides, he had to wait until his hair dried before going to bed, or he could catch a cold. (He already had that happen to him once or twice, wasn't pretty.) So not having anything else to do, Luke pulled the desk chair over to the fireplace. Throwing a pair of logs in there for good measure, he placed the chair at a comfortable distance and began to brush his hair.

As the red head continued to absent mindedly comb out his hair, his mind wandered around through days past and current. Another perk of having a room all to yourself was that you could reminisce in peace without the scrutiny of your fellow travelers. Dam that Jade and his powers of getting just about anything out of him. Can't hardly keep a secret from that guy, sheesh. Anise was no better at it, however much less successful than the cunning coronel.

His thoughts went from one thing to another. Sometimes just to recap of what had been done, and what needed to be done. A few stray thoughts adventured out to remind Luke of some of the more comical events that had taken place thus far, earning a few smiles and chuckles out of the red head. Even if half of the time, he ended up being at the bad side of a joke or prank, looking back now, he couldn't help but find it amusing._ 'One of these days I will come up with something to get back at Jade for all these pranks.' _For being the 'adult' of the group, Jade sure did pull a whole lot of pranks, probably because it was so hard to tell if he was up to something or not. That and he could pretty much place traps in no time flat. Kind of like the time in Chesedonia where Jade made both Luke and Guy work their butts off for the whole afternoon so that they could 'buy' a fon tech music disc. The bastard.

None the less, his thoughts wondered off quite a bit, bringing up memories both pleasant and painful. Sadly, there was always one topic in particular that would always be like a knife to the heart. And he only needed to look in the mirror to be reminded of it.

Lately, Luke had evaded mirrors almost completely. There were a few times when there was no way around it, like say shaving his face every other morning. But other than that, he tried to stay away from them. It was sad indeed when you look into a mirror and only end up seeing someone else's face. Someone in particular that hated your guts and was very well willing to kill you if given the opportunity. Even though original and replica no longer looked like exact copies cut from the same cookie cutter, there was no denying the similarities.

Luke sighed deeply and leaned back into the chair. He had stopped combing his hair a few minutes before, the brush having fallen down to the floor long forgotten. The red head focused his sight on the fireplace before him. Once again he lost himself in thought, but this time, it all revolved around his original, Asch.

After the events at Akzeriuth, Luke had come to realize that his whole life had been nothing but a lie. 7 years of lies to be more precise. He wasn't the real son and heir to the Fabre household, he was not Natalia's cousin and future husband, and by no means at all, was he the savior/destroyer of the world, even if he did blow up Akzeriuth but managed to stop the all-out war between Malkuth and Kilmasca. The only truth in him was, that he was made to be a stand in copy for Asch, the real Luke fon Fabre. A throw away pawn, made only to serve its purpose, and that was to pave the way for Van's idea of a world without a Score through brute force, kill off everyone and recreate them via replicas. Replicas that had no knowledge or that clinging to the Score for every little detail in everyday life. However, in order to make said pawn, Van had cleverly manipulated those around the little replica in order to keep it dumb, ignorant, and stupid. And boy did it work like a charm, Luke was wrapped around Van's little finger by far better than a puppet on strings.

So, in those 7 years of his short existence, Luke lived in Asch's house, used his things, his room, lived with his family, and for all account's and purposes, was to live out the life Asch should have. And he took it all for granted. All that had Luke turned into _the _spoiled brat of the century. Millennia maybe even. As far as Luke could remember, the only thing he really did those 7 years, aside from relearning the basics, was whine. Day and night. Stuck up parents that keep him under lock and key, always trying to force him to remember things and live up to their standards, servants that didn't get too close to him but even he could tell that they both hated and pitied him, Natalia always bugging him. Ugh... yea it wasn't pretty. But now, looking at it all in hindsight, he realized just how bad a case he was. No wonder everyone hated his guts, they had every single dam reason to do so.

It was only until the point where Luke decided to cut his hair, did he really make a bow to change his ways. There were a few things about his attitude that still flared from time to time, but he hoped that at least he was nowhere near the arrogant spoiled brat he was just a few short months ago. At any rate, from that point forward, Luke had really tried his best to turn over a new leaf. He tried to make it up to everyone. He tried to pitch in a lot more with various chores, sometimes going off to do them on his own before anyone asked. Even if there were some things that he still botched up royally on a frequent basis (ahem, cooking), Luke did feel that he was making progress. Well he at least hoped to at any rate. Sadly, there was one person that he just couldn't make it up to. And perhaps that was the person he most wanted to redeem himself to. Asch.

In some ways, Asch reminded Luke much of his older self. Arrogant, selfish, prideful, and overall a stuck up pain in the ass, were just a few of the adjectives that came to mind. But then again, Asch did end up like that much in part thanks to Luke unknowingly stealing everything from him and kicking him out. That aside, there were several things that separated original from replica, not just real age. Attitude aside, Asch had a certain... presence, or aura if you will, around him. He knew how to command others, he knew how to get things done, and he knew how to get those around him to respect (and fear, hmm maybe mostly fear) him. For all his faults, Asch was not one to back down from a challenge or hide at the first sight of danger. The God-General might lean more towards the reckless side, but he got the job done. Usually, anyway.

Luke sighed and shook his head sideways. '_Perhaps, we are a little bit more alike than either of us want to admit.'_ He ran his hand through his somewhat still damp hair to push his bangs aside at the thought.

But the problem remained. How exactly can one make it up to such an arrogant asshole? Luke had already tried to get Asch to at least see his parents and giving them some alone time. He never knew what happened, but all he got was another chewing out. Luke knew that ultimately, Asch wanted his name and title back, and the little replica was by now more than willing to step aside and let him reclaim it. But for one or another reason, Asch would simply not outright give him the boot. Sadly, there were not that many options that would potentially appease the red head God-General. It wasn't like walking up to him with a big old cake with the words _'I'm sorry. Please come back home_' would work on Asch. Buying him things was also out of the question, since Asch would probably think that the money with was used to buy said gift would come out of the household's pockets. Lastly, Luke had no real crafting skill, so making Asch as gift was also a no go. So he was screwed no matter how he looked at it.

The only thing poor little Luke could do was to keep going over his memories, and hope he found out some tiny little bit of usable information that he could use to make it up to Asch. No luck so far, just more dead ends and nightmares.

After Luke and the group had thrown Van off into the planet's core after the fight at the Absorption Gate, Luke had both wanted and dreaded the possibility that Asch would one day waltz back into the Manor and throw him out. He did want to give Asch his rightful place back, but he wasn't sure if anyone would take him in. The idea of maybe going to Grand Chokmah and live with Guy had been his best case scenario, but even he agreed that that plan might have been pushing it. For all he knew, Guy probably wanted and needed some time away from the Fabre household, and no doubt Luke would stir up old ghosts. At least this time around, he didn't want to impose on Guy or to make him feel obligated to take in a stray replica. However, much to Luke's surprise, day by day had gone by, and no sudden appearance by Asch. Not even an order or his traditional name calling via their little mind link. It had made him both nervous and sad in all honestly. For one thing, Luke had even cleaned out his old room and tidied it up, so in the event that Asch did come back, all Luke had to do was pick up one single backpack and be off. He had resigned himself to let Asch decide what he wished to do with everything else. There were probably some usable things in there, but knowing Asch, he would probably get rid of it all just out of sheer spite towards the replica.

But as the days went by, Luke fell more and more into a slump. He had tried to live up to the proper standards of nobility, but as much as he tried, he simply wasn't cut out for it. He often kept making the same stupid mistakes, or outright lacked the skill in full. Every single time he got stuck like that, he would always end up thinking_ 'I bet Asch would have gotten this done right and perfectly on the first try'. _As far as Luke could tell, he would need another 10 years before he could be any kind of half decent monarch. Politics aside, perhaps the real sore point had been that he had received no words from his 'friends' or anything. At one point, Luke had broken down and pretty much come to believe that the whole group was just glad to get rid of him and that the world was safe. There might have been a bottle or two of wine (or was that scotch?) involved in that episode, but it still had hurt to not hear a single word out of anyone, save Natalia, and she bitches around just as bad or more than Luke did in his brat days, sheesh. At least he later on learned that the head butler had hidden all of his correspondence by orders of his 'father', so at least he was relieved to find out that his friends still wanted to talk to him.

Shame that that's when this whole chase to find the Key of Lorelei started, and once again Asch was on his case for being a second rate replica. '_Well excuse me for not being able to learn Ancient Ispanian overnight, you prick. Yes I'm a slow learner, so deal with it.' _Luke grumbled to himself more than once because of that. Besides, who would have guessed that Van would escape from death by fusing and trapping Lorelei within his body? Dam lucky sonuvabitch...

None the less, it was already in the past. Their current situation might not be overall pretty, but at least they were trying to search for the dam Jewel. Now if Asch would only be as kind as to get off his dam case for enough time to actually explain what's what, then maybe this wild goose chase would be a little more productive. Sadly, from the looks of things, that was about as likely to happen as asking ask Asch to dress up as a ballerina and dance to swan lake. At any rate, for the time being, they were once again stuck. Hence why Jewel chasing was put on the backburner and planetary stability was pushed up to the forefront.

Having reminisced long enough, Luke got up from his spot and walked away from the fireplace, only stopping long enough to pick up the discarded brush from the floor. His hair had almost fully dried so there was no need to remain so close to the fireplace. After placing the brush on top of his backpack, he made his way over to go make the bed. Might as well pull out all the sheets this time around, unlike last time where he tried to find the bottom most sheet in the dark and failed at it, mistaking it and a thin blanket for the mattress' covering. Only till the morning did he find out why he felt blankets were missing. He had slept on top of them the whole time.

Once he pulled out the blankets so that he could comfortably get into bed, Luke went back to his belongings to pick up a clean set of clothing for tomorrow morning. He wasn't going to need to take a shower in the morning, but might as well get himself a few extra minutes under the covers. All that was left to do was to make sure the fire was dying down and that no embers were close to the floor. He didn't want any accidents of the sort at any rate.

"There. All set." Luke told himself after pushing the ashes and remaining wood farther back into the fireplace. He debated momentarily as to if he should throw in one more log so that it would left over heat would last him through the night, but in the end decided against it. A fresh log might last an hour or two before it started to die down, and he was probably going to be in la-la land long before that. '_Better safe than sorry.'_

With that settled, he started to go around the room turning off all the lamps and double checking that both door and windows were closed and locked.

"Dang, the wind really picked up." commented the red head after drawing back the curtains and seeing a mini ice storm. '_No wonder the city wanted to shut down so early. They must have this figured out down like a science.'_ And all the more reason to make sure that the windows were properly locked. The last thing he needed was to wake up to a pile of snow all over the room. Good thing he checked too, for the window had been closed, but not locked. A strong enough gust of wind and it could have thrown the window wide open.

The last lamp to turn off was over by the dresser. Sadly said dresser had a mirror over it, strapped into the wall. Luke sighed and walked over. He was ready to pull down on a small brass chain that turned off the lamp, but he could not help but glance at the mirror. For once, he could see his own reflection. Short and messy red hair, his off-white button up pajama shirt, and his big, sad emerald green eyes. His face was still slightly round in some places, evidence enough that he had not quite gotten out of his childhood yet. It would probably take him a few more years before he lost all of the 'baby fat'. Perhaps, it was times like this one, when Luke ditched his loose fitting pants and long tailed coat that one could really see how small he actually was. Sad as it was, even his adoptive mom was taller than him. Secretly, he was still hoping for that last second growth spurt, but he knew the chances of that happening were slim. In the end, his real age showed. He really was just a 7 year old placed in a body of a 17 year old and expected to do as a 17 year old should. Those big doe eyes of his could tell everyone that much, even if they were also half covered by sorrow and regret.

His eyes. His eyes were different from Asch's. Asch's eyes were hardened over, almost soulless. Cold, dark, void of all cheer and joy. Just like the owner. There were some other differences. Asch was a tad bit taller too, but has also heavier and slightly broader in build that Luke was. Then again, comparing someone who had been all over the world training his butt off to someone that spent most of his life locked up in a house was by no means a fair contest. Unlike Luke, Asch had none of the baby fat left over, and pound for pound, he was pure muscle. His body favored speed and precision being still an overall lightweight, but between his swordsmanship and spell casting, anyone that got in his way was in trouble. And a dam lot of it. Still, if anyone managed to get a good look at Asch without his armor or shirt on, oh they were in for a real treat. He was after all, drop dead gorgeous.

Luke felt himself blush at a few selected memories revolving the God-General. When it came to physical appeal, Asch could beat him by a long shot. And he knew what he was talking about, since he had after all, managed to get a few glimpses at the god general in skin only. It had been by pure accident, in all honesty, and thankfully Luke had been far to dazed and in shock to realize what exactly had been going on. He hadn't meant to partially wake up from a little nap just in time to see Asch undressing in front of a full length mirror in order to take a shower. That had happened during the brief time that his consciousness had been residing within Asch's mind after the events at Akzeriuth. At the time, he hadn't even really registered what was going on, all he had done was wake up, looked around through Asch's eyes, and then curled up in his corner again. Asch was probably thinking of something else or didn't think Luke was conscious enough to merit a full out whipping.

Only until sometime later, once he was back in his own body did he came to realize the magnitude of his unintentional actions. And holy sweet mother of Yulia, did Luke find himself blushing deeply at that split second image. Oh but not only that, he couldn't help stop and admire his original's drop dead good looks. Every time he even recalled that image, it would not take him long to experience the all too familiar butterflies in your stomach feeling, usually followed by a searing fire that started in the same location and expanded in all directions. Even now, as Luke stood in front of the mirror, several months after that had happened, he could vision that same naked Asch, just off to his side in the mirror's reflection. But that was not all, said nude god general didn't have that hateful glare he always had each time they meet. Oh no... He was smirking. Almost devilish like. And it turned Luke on.

At first, the wild fire that would spread through him at the mere memory, or wild imagination of his original's dream like body, Luke blamed it on still being somehow in shock after the events of Akzeriuth, and that he would never be able to compare himself equally to Asch. He blamed in on somehow both fearing and admiring the superior original, but that soon was proven wrong when he started to find men more appealing than women. That feeling of desire and pleasure of looking at a well-endowed woman got replaced by sneaking glances at various men. Eventually he came to admit he preferred men over women, when he started to find the image of the male half of the team in boxers by far more arousing than Noire in her skimpy little outfit. Luke prayed almost every night to Yulia that neither Guy nor Jade would find out his actual switch in preferences.

But back in his room at the Keterburg hotel, Luke shook his head to clear his mind and put a stop to his fantasizing. If he left his imagination run wild and rampant anymore, he was sure to have trouble sleeping. And would probably be in need of another shower before long. A quick look down verified that he had stopped himself in time.

'_Phew, glad this didn't get out of hand. Even if I'm alone in the room, I'd rather not have anyone see me like this. Now, I just need to keep my mind clear long enough for me to calm down... I just hope I don't get any more mixed goofy nightmares. I don't know what I'm going to do if one moment I dream that Asch is trying to kill me, and the next trying to fuck me.'_

Thankfully, those dreams were few and far between. And it was much more common to see the vengeful Asch trying to cut him down to pieces. A mixed blessing of sorts, seeing as how Asch could cut through and see what the replica was seeing or thinking at any point in time on a whim. At least from that perspective, it was better to have Asch see Luke fear him, than to see Luke lusting over him. Either way, Luke wasn't sure if his luck would hold, but so far he was fairly sure that Asch knew nothing of his little crush on the long haired red head. Hopefully, it would stay that way. He just didn't knew how long it would hold, or how long would Luke be able to keep his composure in check, before he seriously screwed something up and did something he deeply desired, but also something he feared greatly.

And it all made his current standing with Asch that much more complicated.

'_Get a grip on yourself Luke!'_ He scolded himself mentally. '_Besides, Asch would never get romantic with me. Yea... he'd never really love me anyway.' _

He felt dejected when he told himself that. '_But it's the truth... Who would fall in love with someone they hate so badly?'_

It was a sad realization. And part of Luke died with each time he repeated that to himself. He knew that his chances to get romantically involved with Asch were about as high as a snowball's chances at surviving after being thrown into Mount Zaleho. Which was... cero. Probably Natalia was the only one that had a decent chance of getting something going with the true Fabre. Getting Asch to forgive him and maybe tolerate him was very slim, but still a lot higher than the possibility of love blossoming between both red heads. The younger red head probably had a better shot at getting into Van's bed long before he even got a hug out of Asch.

Luke sighed for the nth time that night. Sometimes he wondered why he even bothered with his little fantasy of Asch, when deep inside he knew that he wasn't going to get anything out of it.

'_Bah! What's the use? I might as well just give up and get some dam sleep already.'_ The young red head scolded himself as he pulled the small chain of the desk lamp, placing most of the room in shadows. The only remaining source of light was coming from the few glowing red wood pieces still smothering in the fireplace. Just enough light so that it was not difficult to fall asleep with, and also just enough so that Luke could make his way back to the bed without hitting his toes against the furniture while wading in complete darkness.

After that, he pulled back the covers so that he could comfortably get into the bed. Then pulled all the blankets up to his chin, leaving only his unruly mop of red hair and his face visible. He tossed and turned a bit, trying to find a comfortable position, and once he found it he stretched his arms and yawned, before quickly retracting his limbs under the blankets._ 'Man, I guess I was more tired than I thought.' _It would take a bit for the bed to get warm, but it would eventually.

A few minutes later, all of the exhaustion from a full day of roughing it through Keterburg's snowy hillsides finally caught up with Luke, making him drowsy and slowly drifting towards dreamland. '_Maybe, I'm tired enough that I won't even dream.'_

However a knock on the room's door snapped him back to reality, followed by a somewhat impatient question.

"Hey dreck. You awake in there?"

' _Oh shit.'_

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**_A/N: I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter. Poor Luke! What could be waiting for him? We will just have to see in the next chapter. *wink*_**

**_Reviews and constructive criticism is much appreciated! Until next time!_**


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Hi everyone! Thank you for all the hits, follows, favs and reviews! And a big thank you to May03 for pointing out the typo in the story's name. (My, wasn't that embarrassing ^_^U) **_

_**Just to be on the safe side, a quick reminder that this is Asch/Luke yaoi romance. Not your cup of tea? Might wanna hit that back button once or twice then. **_

_**Also, there is some slight Natalia bashing towards the end of this chapter. Even after my second full playthrough of TotA (ps2 version), Natalia was my least used character, I think I had her at like less than 1% used, wow. Honestly, I could hardly stand her overall personality. She just rubbed offa me the wrong way. It also didn't help much that I never could figure out how to use her properly. I've seen a few videos of folks using her like a pro, but I guess that's just beyond my skill. Oh well.**_

_**Now that I got all that out of the way, here is chapter 2! Enjoy! 3 **_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of the Abyss._

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_Summary: After the events at Akzeriuth, Luke had come to fear Asch for good reason. The original was better than him at just about everything, and made sure to point out his shortcomings at every opportunity. This hostility only doubled when Luke had failed to receive the Jewel of Lorelei. Since then, Luke dreaded any contact he had with Asch… but for more reasons than just fear at getting yelled at again and again. _

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_~ Conflicting Emotions. ~  
_

Dam it all. Just Dam. It. All.

It had just been one of those days, were everything went wrong from start to finish.

Asch (formerly known as Luke fon Fabre) cursed at his ever rotten luck once again. He had lost count how many times he had done that so far that day, given that after the 35th time, he reckoned that it just wasn't worth it to keep the tally up to date. Instead, he grunted even more obscenities under his breath as he made his way through the slush and snow towards Keterburg Bay for the second time that day. Normally he would have refrained himself from swearing in such a colorful and loud manner, but at the moment, his only audience was made up by robust trees and low shrubs that made up the majority of the landscapes of Sylvana, and the occasional rabbit or squirrel scurrying about, so… Asch simply could not find himself giving a dam about personal restraint at the moment.

Even though Asch was rather known for his short temper, he rarely let his emotions cloud his fighting skills, nor judgment for that matter. But today, he was in an even fouler mood that usual, which in turn made him into a proverbial ticking time bomb, ready to set off on the first unfortunate soul he comes across.

What exactly was it that placed Asch in such a mood that day?

Well, for starters, he had spent every waking moment since Van's supposed downfall to search everywhere for the remnants of the mad man's crazy schemes, as well as Lorelei's Jewel, since his damnable replica failed to receive it. Tracking down Van's plans proved to be much easier of the two, but with current events going the way they were, he feared that he would require the power of the Key of Lorelei before long. That in turn forced him to search all over Auldrant for the missing Jewel.

Painstakingly, he began to search every nook and cranny within the various remaining Sephiroth after his initial searchers at the Absorbtion Gate and Radiation Gate came up empty. After dragging himself out of the Absorbtion Gate, the nearest Sephiroth was inside Mount Roneal, so he urged Ginji to fly in that direction.

At the time, the skies had been clear, devoid of any clouds and the wind was as soft as a mother's gentle caress on a newborn babe. Perfect visibility and perfect flying conditions. Even though both pilot and former Oracle Knight knew that the mountain range was treacherous and unpredictable, the men had fallen into a lull of confidence due to the seemingly peaceful setting, and chose to attempt to land in the valley that could be seen in the middle of the mountain range. It was certainly big enough and clear of obstructions to allow plenty of room for the Albiore to land and take off properly. He should have known better, but he completely disregarded that nagging feeling in the back of his mind.

It was truly a majestic sight what laid before them; untouched by man for Yulia knows how long, the mountains looked as pristine and imposing as they had been since their creation. A small cluster of trees gathered on the southwestern side of the valley, offering a green reprieve in the otherwise pearly white wonderland. Everything else, was bathed in soft fallen snow. The ever gentle wind was causing small handfuls of snow to release their hold from the surrounding rock formations in order to gracefully dance over the even ground.

All in all, it was just too perfect. The scenery was inviting- no, it was actually more like enticing them, to come closer. Like the allure of a beautiful woman to a man that had spent months devoid of all companionship, it beckoned them closer still. Even the wind and snow sang for them, offering a soothing lullaby to erase their worries.

Caution completely disregarded, Ginji maneuvered the flying ship towards a nice even part of the clearing. With the lack of strong headwinds, keeping the Albiore nice and steady was easy. As Ginji prepared for the descent, Asch had unbuckled himself and made his way towards the ship's exit. Through a small porthole on the side, Asch could see as the ground slowly rose up to meet them, up until they were no more than a few feet away from the surface.

And then, Sylvana roared into life like the backstabbing bitch that she was.

They _really_ should have known better. But nooooo…. They bloody fell right into it.

The first warning had been the wave of rolling thunder that began to echo through the mountainside, yet the men did not heed it. Instead, they soon found themselves caught in hurricane like winds. Those same winds, that had been singing sweet words in their ears for the last half hour, were now shrieking like evil banshees trying to drag them to their deaths. Around them, the snow rose up and flew in all directions, moving about like a school of fish in a frenzy, obscuring all view and nearly destroying any and all sense of direction. Ginji had called for Asch via the intercom, telling the red head that they had to leave while they still could, less they end up crashing the Albiore.

Not wanting to risk their only ticket to world travel, Asch made a split second call. He ordered Ginji to get the hell out of there and to fly towards Keterburg, and that he would jump off and walk his way back to the city. The pilot agreed.

Quickly, Asch opened the door and jumped off, managing to activate the closing mechanism just in time. He landed roughly, and rolled a few times in the snow. Behind him, Ginji had wasted no time in flying away from the upcoming blizzard. His navigating was a little shaky at the start, but he soon cleared the ridgeline with just a few feet to spare and then disappeared from Asch's line of sight.

Without a glance back, Asch set off towards Mount Roneal's inner tunnels. It would do him no favors to freeze to death as the now razor sharp winds and thick snow began to bite without mercy at his exposed skin.

The inside of Mount Roneal was every bit as beautiful and deadly as the frozen landscape outside, but it also had a much calmer nature. It was also noticeable warmer now that the winds no longer could hit him straight on. He allowed himself a brief respite and slowly began to head deeper inside. Despite the more peaceful appearance of the vast tunnels, he didn't let his guard down, because the inner tunnels of the mountain were still filled with numerous animated sentinels left over from an era long gone. Even a seasoned swordsman like Asch could fall victim to the mechanical fiends if he got ganged up or taken by surprised.

For the next few hours, Asch carefully combed section after section of the tunnels in search for the missing Jewel. He focused with even greater detail around the Sephiroth core itself, once again wishing that the Jewel had been coughed up near the 'tree'.

Sadly, it was all for naught. The Jewel was not there. Dismayed by another dead end, Asch had no choice but to begin backtracking and leave the tunnels for good.

He just had to run into that failure of a replica on his way out. He just had to.

Dam his luck. Again!

Not one to waste the perfect opportunity to once again drill into that reject's brain what a pathetic excuse he was, Asch gave him another good verbal scolding. He would have absolutely loved to shove the dreck off from one of the nearby cliffs or from the crystalline floating platforms to rid the world of the problem, but he had wasted enough time searching high and low as it was. Catching up to Ginji and getting a status update on the condition of the Albiore was more important than gutting a spoiled brat. No matter how much he really wanted to do just that.

Instead, he pushed aside the crybaby and left promptly. He had better things to do anyway.

The long trek down the mountain had been uneventful. The wind had still been howling at his back, no doubt angry that it had not claimed another victim that day, but Asch managed to navigate his way down carefully without much problems other than the occasional monster. He only made a quick stop at Keterburg to get a real meal before continuing towards the port to check up on Ginji.

Finding the platinum haired pilot proved to be a little tricky. Keterburg Bay was actually rather large. The city itself was rather small but it stretched out quite a bit along the water's edge to make room for the docks and other warehouses. After much inquiring, he was able to find Ginji on one of the smaller docks, with the Albiore partially held up in the air by a pair of sturdy cranes preparing it to be moved onto land, to be later moved into one of the wharfs. Even Asch, who had no real backdrop on mechanical contraptions, could discern that the flying ship had sustained a good amount of damage due to their stunt above Mount Roneal. Various metal plates had been torn off, with ice and rust eating away at the ships interior. All of the right hand side engines were covered in dark sooth, fire damage most likely. Not to mention, there was a good chunk of the rear tail missing. He might not be able to see the full extent of the damage, but he knew that it would cost him dearly all the same.

Again, Asch cursed his luck and his own stupidity for allowing himself to believe that they could best the island's savage weather.

Ginji briefly filled him on what happened after they parted ways as they watched the large matte black and red Albiore be maneuvered expertly by the dock workers. The pilot knew that his passenger was not in the mood for long explanations, so he skimmed over most of it, going straight to the point.

While he had been able to fly away from the valley, the sudden chilling winds had been too much for several of the internal sensors and mechanisms within the Albiore. Ginji had barely managed to clear the highest peaks when the main flying mechanism had completely frozen over. That led to an emergency (and bumpy) water landing. With some quick thinking and on-the-spot rewiring, the pilot had manually activated one of the backup engines and managed to keep the ship afloat. After that, he carefully made his way towards Keterburg Bay, not trusting the ship to hold under much strain. He made it, but just barely. The whole lower level of the ship had been flooded and was already starting to seep into the cockpit.

Ginji wagered that it would take a few days to get it repaired at the least. Or well up to a month if the internal damage was severe and if he needed to rebuild many of the parts from scratch. Ginji had the skills and the know-how, plus most of the tools and raw materials were readily available in Keterburg, but there was only so much one man could do on a small budget. Both he and Asch had been living off what was left of the former knight's savings… which was starting to dwindle down dangerously low. Only a few thousand gald left.

And no way in hell was he going to send a message to his parents asking for money. Nope. No. And hell no! Not gonna happen.

One of the nearby dock managers overheard their plight. This man had also heard of their earlier achievements in stopping the once Commandant from sinking the whole world into the miasma. He offered them to go to Keterburg and seek out Governor Nephry for her aid. If she gave the approval, they could move the Albiore to one of the military hangers and have a whole team of technicians help out with the repair, and the costs waved.

Asch disliked living on free handouts, but he also knew that he really had no other options. It was either suck it up and hope that the Governor agreed, or be just about stranded on the snow blanketed island while the world went to hell.

Sucking up to the Governor it is then.

Sighing in defeat, Asch made his way again towards Keterburg. In his mind, he dearly hoped that he did not need to resort to some more underhanded tactics to get the governor's cooperation, such as flirting.

To his surprise, the governor was sister to Jade Curtis. Their resemblance to one another was uncanny, save for the different color in the eyes. But unlike the coronel, Nephry extruded an aura of warmth and calm, while also being professional about most things. The way she moved about in a dignified manner and conducted business was more than enough to reveal that Nephry had not simply inherited her position from her late husband or acquired it due to close ties to the Empire's ruling class. No, far from it, she _earned_ her way up through hard work and dedication. No backstabbing not dealing under the table involved (or it was at ridiculously low levels that was neigh unheard off anywhere else in the world). She was a natural born leader that cared and protected her people, very much unlike most power hungry bastards that tended to get into ruling positions.

Someone like that easily earned Asch's respect.

Also, Nephry being that closely related to the (in)famous Coronel was a blessing for Asch, for she knew in greater detail exactly what had happened not too long ago. There were times when it really pissed off Asch that most of the glory for saving the world was sorely received by his replica and friends. Nephry surprised him by sincerely thanking him for his efforts in helping taking down Van. He was honestly left stung, because he had not expected any kind of honest gratitude. He had truth expected the usual carefully manicured sweet words that came with politics, but here was a woman that was almost frank to the bone. It was… refreshing actually.

Not wanting to waste more time, Asch quickly brought the lady governor up to date on recent events and to his plight, to which Nephry quickly offered her help. In the span of a few short minutes, Asch had in his hand signed by Nephry and sealed in wax with Keterburg's code of arms. Written inside was the express order to move the Albiore's repair to the top of the priority list, and was to be worked on by the city's royal division of technicians.

The lady governor had also offered to book him and Ginji a room to stay in during the repairs, but he politely denied it. Ginji was the only one that had any real clue as to how repairs had to be carried so he needed to be among the technicians. As for Asch, staying in luxurious rooms tended to bring up bad memories. Plus, the letter he had in his hands was more than anything he could have hoped for. He could survive well enough at one of the inns at the port for a few days.

And best of all, he got to keep his pants on.

For the first time that day, things were starting to look up for Asch.

Wait a minute. That's too good to be true. He thought the same before he and Ginji tried to foolishly attempt to land on the mountainside. And that certainly did not come out all right.

Better safe than sorry, Asch asked the woman if there was some kind of condition or catch in exchange for her assistance, hesitant for what the she would require out of him.

Nephry then closed her eyes in concentration, interweaving her fingers under her chin. After some quiet contemplation, she gave Asch a long gaze form head to toe. The red head knew very well that he was not exactly in a presentable condition. His hair was a partial tangled mess; some of his bangs having fallen loose from his preferred hairstyle. Snow and blood stained both hair and clothing. The long day had taken a toll on him, and the urgency of the situation had forced Asch to give priority to getting the Albiore repair instead of focusing on his own appearance.

Still… was she seizing him up? A knot formed in his stomach, dreading that she would ask of him something that he was not quite willing to give. He had been scrutinized before my women before, young and old, (and a few men to his outmost displeasure) and despite his mostly stoic personality, it did unnerve him to suddenly feel like a fresh cut of steak among hungry wolves. It took every ounce of willpower he had in his body to refrain from shuddering under the woman's gaze. '_Oh hell… I knew it was too soon to celebrate. As flattering as it is to have a woman twice your age find you attractive, this is wrong on several levels. So much for keeping my pants on.'_

He wasn't sure if Nephry's response was better or worse than what he feared.

"I will ask of you nothing. Your earlier heroic actions are reason enough to help you out in your time of need. It is after all, thanks to you, my brother and his companions, that the whole of Auldrant is still alive. What I will do, is tell you something. I know that you do not get along with Luke, your replica. But among the seven of you lay our hopes to make it out of this alive. However, no one can be in two places at the same time. Instead, should you work together; you can cover much more ground and cover each other's backs.

"The reason why I'm telling you this is because of something I learned from Luke. Due to his… upbringing, he is sorely lacking in some skills that he should have learned long ago. Keep in mind that he did not learn from lack of trying or from refusing to do so, but instead because no one had bothered to teach him." She paused briefly, lowering her gaze to a small picture frame on the edge of the desk. Then her tone grew colder, completely unlike the soft warmth she just seemed to radiate. "I hold no love for the Score. I know I would have lost my brother had things gone the way it was written down. But one way or another, it is thanks to Luke's ignorance that we are talking here and now.

"Once again, I will not ask of you anything." Her tone softened up. "Instead I will simply suggest. Luke knows that he is lacking, and is going to great lengths to cover lost ground. My brother informed me that the two of you have a unique way of communication. You can speak to each other no matter how far away you are. This could prove invaluable to quickly inform others. Likewise, you can use this form of communication to instruct Luke in things that he needs to learn quickly.

"Whether or not you take my advice is up to you. That letter in your hands is still valid regardless, no matter what you decide.

"Should something unexpected rise up with the repairs, feel free to inform me. I might have contacts that can help out."

"And last but not least…" Nephry's soft smile turned into something much for devious, and her eyes gained an almost malicious twinkle in them. "I never had the intention of asking you to get up close and personal with me. You are quite the handsome young man, but I'm fairly sure you already have a sweetheart somewhere out there. I wouldn't dare meddle in. However, do feel free to freshen up in the restroom behind that door over there. I noticed that you were concern about your presentation so I thought I'd offer." The woman finished with a happy tone. "Now I know why my brother likes to tease Luke so much. Your expressions were just priceless." She then discreetly giggled into the palm of her hand.

W-what the bloody hell just happened?

Was that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?

By Yulia, this woman really was related to that bastard Jade! Worse still, she was even better than the Coronel at screwing with one's mind? Was that even remotely possible?

Asch's stood speechless for almost a minute in front of Nephry, as his brain tried to reboot itself, while his face invented four whole new shades of red from the embarrassment.

In the end, Nephry chuckled at the dumbstruck redhead and gently ushered him out of her office with a warm smile on her face once more, telling him not to worry his head too much, and to focus on the things in front of him.

By the time Asch snapped himself out of his stupor, he remembered what he had to do. He made good on Nephry's second offer and freshened up a bit. He would not be able to get all the snow, mud and blood out of his clothing and armor, but he could at least wash his face and get his hair tamed. Once he was as clean as he was going to get, he looked over his equipment. He groaned at the sorry sight of his armor and scabbard. A trip to an armor smith was in order.

Leaving behind the governor's office, Asch once again walked the streets of the city in direction of one of the local armor shops. Once there, he handed over his damaged gear and paid the fee to get it all fixed. He would pick it up the next day. He wasn't in much of a hurry anyway. The Albiore would need a few days anyway.

As he was about to leave the quaint little store, he came across a sight he really did not want to see so soon.

Apparently, Lady Luck was not quite done screwing with him that day, for she had deemed that Asch would encounter that damned replica again! Twice in the same day.

He really was cursed.

Both men, mirror images to each other stood frozen for a split second, neither saying a word nor moving a muscle. But as Luke's mind started to dive deeper and deeper into panic, the events from his miserable day had finally caught up with Asch.

Simply put, he lost it, and went feral on the poor replica. If not for the fact that he remembered where he was, he might have just succumbed to his impulses and killed the replica right there and then. They were alone after all, not a single soul was out in the streets. The replica didn't have any of his 'friends' there to hide behind and not many places to run and hide. Oh it would have been easy, very easy indeed, to pull out the small dagger he kept hidden on his right thigh just under the rim of his high boots and to shove it into the replica's neck. The savage, primal part within Asch would have loved nothing more than to hold onto the hilt of the blade while watching as the stolen lifeblood flowed out from the wound and see the life in his eyes fade away into darkness. And all of it with a wicked smile on his face.

It would have been glorious. Beautiful, bloody, and glorious.

However, some other part within Asch (his logical side he presumed) quelled down his impulsive urges, reminding him that at the time the replica was at least useful. Missing Jewel or not, planetary stability was an issue of great importance. Yes, he would allow the replica to live another day if only to give him more time to track down more remnants of Van's schemes unhindered.

Not that letting him live meant that he was not going to give the brat another good chewing out.

Despite the snarl in his face and the hellfire in his eyes, part of him took great pleasure in seeing that damnable replica whimper and squirm under his gaze.

He had been about to leave when the copy had apparently grown a slight backbone and tried to speak to him. Or more like beg for something. It was by no means an easy task to decipher the near unintelligible garble that escaped the younger red head's lips, but he managed to grasp a few words here and there. The copy wanted to give him back something? Ha! Nothing he 'owned' was actually his. Everything, even his name was Asch's by blood and by right. The short haired boy could keep whatever he was offering unless it was the Jewel of Lorelei. If not, then he could shove his offer where the sun didn't shine for all he cared.

At that point, he didn't trust his already slipping composure to hold for much longer, so he quickly turned away and left, while he still had control, leaving behind the cowardly copy in a jumbled up heap of nerves just off the side to the road.

Later, Asch found himself once again on the near barren road between Keterburg and Keterburg Bay. He had chosen to remain off the beaten path, so that he could take out his frustrations on the monsters that appeared within range.

Sadly, not even the cold winds that were picking or, or the various carcasses he left in his wake did anything to cool off Asch's temper. So he did the only thing he could do: hack, slash, burn to a crisp and sweat out loud at the monsters that he came across, cursing at his ever lame luck, cursing at Van for not dying when he should have, cursing at Lorelei for breaking down the Key into two parts and throwing each in a different direction, cursing at the replica for not receiving the Jewel, cursing at all this near senseless running all over the world, cursing at the absolutely horrible day he had been having, and most of all, cursing at himself for getting wrapped up in this whole mess in the first place.

After thoroughly scaring the living daylight out of every living woodland creature between Keterburg and Keterburg Bay, Asch, exhausted from his earlier actions, finally made his way towards were he has last seen Ginji. He found both pilot and dock manager busy hammering away at some blocks of ice clinging to the Albiore's lower body. The ship itself had by then been fully raised out of the water and placed on a moving trolley. There it sat still, allowing all the water inside to drain out.

Quickly he called down both mechanics and handed over Nephry's letter. The dock manager read through it and grinned.

In less than an hour, the flying piece of fon tech machinery was safely inside one of the royal workshops and being looked over by two dozen skilled technicians. Asch waited on the side while they did what they knew best. Sometime later, Ginji went over to Asch with the damage report. It wasn't pretty, the damage was quite extensive on the inside and on the engines. They were looking at the very least a full week of work.

Ginji prevented Asch from hitting himself against the wall in frustration. He then suggested that Asch book himself a room in an inn for a few days at least. When Asch made to remain within the hanger, the pilot managed to talk him out of it, mostly because machines would be working 24/7 and not allow him to sleep due to all the noise. Not to mention there was no office where he could crash out safely, out of the reach of moving heavy equipment.

Defeated at least in that argument, (and he really wanted to take a warm bath and pass out for the night in a real bed) Asch left the hanger and walked towards the inns that were in town.

Much like Keterburg, the port town had a lot of temporary traffic, so places to stay were in demand year round. With nightfall on their heels, most people were retiring for the day, making inns very busy and rather lively. The first few hours of the night were always filled with much merriment and tale sharing among travelers, and depending on the place, maybe a drunken brawl or two.

Tired from his long day, Asch decided on the first inn he came across. The main lobby was full of sailors relaxing after a hard day's of work, but Asch paid them no heed, despite various offers to join the ongoing conversations or contests. Instead, he headed up to his room for a much needed warm shower.

That shower felt like a slice of heaven topped off with chocolate syrup and served on a silver platter. Due to the events from the day, he had never stopped to really notice how sore his body was. Only after he had allowed himself to relax and soak in the warm water did he actually begin to feel his aching muscles and overall how tense he had been. The waters also soothed away what was left of Asch's anger, allowing the young man to finally let go of all the built up tension.

After drying off and putting some clean clothes on, Asch laid back on the single bed in the room. It felt really nice to just stay still and relax, letting the thick blankets underneath him nearly lull him into blissful sleep. How long had it been since he had actually used a real bed and not one of the Albiore's cots? Come to think of it, when was the last time he actually had a full night's sleep?

His memory told him well over a month.

Groaning once again at his recklessness, he flipped over until he was face down and buried his face into the nearby pillow. Sometimes he really wondered just how short sighted he really was. Or if he was just plain suicidal.

As he laid there motionless, his mind began to wonder. Various fleeting images of his past began to grace his thoughts. Some pleasant, most not. Memories of his relatively happy childhood up until his kidnapping at Van's hands of all people. His own teacher at swordsmanship for the love of Yulia.

That was the turning point. After that most of his memories and years passed in a blur, heavily tinted in rage and bitterness that had by now become an integral part of his character.

More scenes flashed in his mind. His years under the Oracle Knights, rising up the ranks. Then double-crossing Van shorty before the fall of Akzeriuth. Later, helping in the lowering of the Outer Lands and stabilizing the world.

And now… trying to rebuild the Key of Lorelei.

Looking back, some memories popped up more than others. Some that at the time had just felt off, but that he could never understand why. Such as during his early childhood, when his father had rarely interacted with him and tended to keep his distance. Now, many years later, he had come to believe that Duke Fabre (he had trouble calling him his father after so long) knew that he would have to send 'Luke' to his death one day, and tried to distance himself from the pain.

Bloody dammed Score, and everyone else that was following it down to the letter.

With that thought, he remembered one of the things Nephry had said to him that had struck quite a cord.

_I hold no love for the Score. I know I would have lost my brother had things gone the way it was written down. But one way or another, it is thanks to Luke's ignorance that we are talking here and now._

As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. Had things gone as the Score wanted it to, he would have died a couple of months back, blissfully ignorant. Like the perfect little sheep walking to the slaughterhouse. And then all hell would have broken out. Calling treachery due to the death of their would-be king, Kimlasca would declare war on Malkuth. A war that would last for a year or two, until Malkuth was wiped off the map. Kimlasca would be left to prosper for some years, but only to succumb to some plague that would engulf the remainder of the world at some point in time.

'_And so does the Closed Score predict the death of Auldrant itself.' _Asch grumbled to himself. He hadn't been privy to the information on the Closed Score until a few months ago, when Van's plans started getting into motion. The commandant himself had blurted out bits and pieces of it over time, but Ion been the one to confirm to him the whole thing. He hadn't felt so downcast and helpless since he had ran all the way back home, having to climb the outer walls and sneak in, only to find his 'parents' dotting over the newly born replica.

And yet, due to Van's twisted plans of world destruction/recreation free of the score, Asch was still alive. As Nephry had put it, Luke's presence had given them all a fighting chance.

Still, he hated the fact that he was indirectly indebted to the replica. Despite all of Luke's fumbles and mistakes, it had taken both of them, original and replica, to safely lower the lands and incase the poisonous miasma deep within the world's core. Had Luke croaked alongside Akzeriuth, Asch would have been hard pressed to save the remainder of the world on his own. He knew that he did not have the power, the resources nor the influence to battle Van, the rest of the god generals and the bulk of the Order of Lorelei at the same time without some form of help.

It really had taken all of the replica's little oddball group plus himself to pull off planetary rescue.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that deep down, he really should be cutting his replica some slack. Luke had been _trying_ to change and improve for the better. Nephry seemed to vouch for him, and she very straightforward in what she said. He had also seen how Luke's group had come to think well of the replica and appreciate him even, which was a big change compared to the complete state of disgust he had seen the rest of the group had been in after escaping from Akzeriuth. So at least Luke was doing _something_ right.

'_Perhaps… Nephry is far wiser than her years.' _Asch thought to himself. _'And maybe… just maybe… it's time I give Luke the benefit of the doubt.'_

At that moment, he recalled something that the replica had managed to stutter out during their second encounter that same day. '_I... I have s-something... t-that I want t-t-to give y-y-you..._ '

He had been hasty in dismissing the younger red head's request, but now with his newfound revelations, Asch found it harder and harder to fully ignore the replica's pleas. And maybe… there was also a long overdue apology in order.

Asch really hated it when his mind would just not decide on what to make of the dam replica. The savage, more primal part within him compelled him to go out and kill the copy, then to reclaim what was rightfully his. His practical side told him that Luke had at least earned his keep due to his efforts in taking down Van, perhaps even gain Asch's acceptance over time.

But, there was one more part within him that he could not explain. This mystery part wanted to reach out to Luke and hold him close.

He wasn't sure how exactly that came to be, but he could recall that it had started around the time He had departed from Yulia City for the first time alongside most of Luke's former traveling mates. More precisely, it had been when he had absorbed the replica's consciousness into his own body and more or less carried the replica's mind with him for a while. After clearing out the Ortion Caverns and kicking Luke out of his mindscape, Asch found himself with an odd sense of loss, like something was missing. Not that the replica had been much company at all during that time. Save for the bitter exchange before leaving Yulia City, the replica had all but curled up in a ball, too shell-shocked to notice much else, and remained almost as silent as a grave. At most, the replica would whimper and cry silently, but that was about it.

So it was not out of lack of conversation, but something else. The only thing he was sure of was that it was related to Luke somehow, and that it had started when he ejected Luke from his mind.

He tried to think of what could have brought this odd void into existence. The only semi plausible excuse he could come up with was that he had somehow reabsorbed some of the fonons that had been extracted from him during the replication process, and he was fairly sure that was a long shot. The rest of his made up scenarios simply made no sense.

Regardless of how those feelings came to be, the effects were near maddening for Asch. It made him desire for the replica's closeness. To hold him… to smell that faint aroma of berries and cinnamon that had to come from whatever shampoo or soap the replica used… to feel his warmth… to hear his soft breathing… to hear the other's heartbeat close to his own…

A heavy contrast from the part of his brain that called out for the replica's blood.

Worse still, during the brief times were he had fallen into deep enough sleep, his dreams would sometimes be invaded by some rather disturbing thoughts. Thoughts that involved some more… intimate interactions with the replica. Asch knew that by all accounts that he should not be engaging in such actions with someone that literally was his mirror image, and that it was wrong on multiple levels. But the images would not stop!

And why the hell was the image of Luke, panting from exhaustion and with his face flushed from the throws of passion, so dam alluring?! It almost made him want to lean down and capture those rosy red lips with his own and—

Asch jolted awake and sat up, eyes wide and his own face nearly as red as his hair, recalling exactly were his thoughts had wondered off to just a split second ago. He then shook his head, trying to disperse what remained of those thoughts. It worked for the most part, so he instead focused on his breathing in order to calm himself even more.

'_By Yulia, that was close.'_ He told himself, relieved that he had not allowed his mind to run wild.

It took Asch several minutes to fully calm down and even out his breathing. It was only until then that Asch eased himself out of his sitting position to look around him. His eyes went from the door across him, to the dresser where he had his things laying on top, to the other few pieces of furniture within the room, and lastly to the window on the side.

He stood up and walked over to the window, pushing aside thick curtains in order to better see outside. Night had just fallen. The sun couldn't have set more than an hour ago. The skies above looked gray and foreboding, but the edge of the western horizon held a lighter shade of blue. Sometime during his bath it had started to snow very softly, but the visibility was still good.

The night was still young and the weather was still fit for traveling. If he hurried, he could reach Keterburg, find out what the replica wanted, and be back in his room in less than two hours.

Asch contemplated if the trip was worth the risk. Luke had said that he was staying at the hotel, but he did not specify for how long. Asch wondered if it would be better to wait until morning and seek the replica out, but that brought a few other implications. For one, he did not know at what time Luke's group would leave, and secondly there was a higher risk of seeing the rest of the group. His standing with the rest of Luke's friends was tolerable at best.

Heck, even he did not know what to make of Natalia, his childhood friend and once fiancé. If anything, this older, more arrogant, reminiscent version of a spoiled brat collided heavily with the image he once had. Natalia might claim that she had the wellbeing of her kingdom and her people first and foremost in her heart, but her actions told a different story. She had become selfish, arrogant, and believed herself superior to others by her title and position. Skill-wise, she was easily outdone. Tear's healing arts were far superior; Jade's magic had better range and was far more dangerous. The only title she could actually clam was to be the group's best marksman (actually, she was the only official marksman—er, markswoman), but even that was up for discussion when placed side by side by the melodist's knife throwing and the necromancer's spear throwing. Her aim might be good enough, but she still lacked the precision to be called deadly and the strength in her arms to actually drive her arrows deep inside her enemies.

It was a sad day for Asch when he realized that his one-time love interest had become little more than a sheltered and spoiled little princess. A princess that was used to having her way, being waited on hand and foot, and had never really faced a hard day's work. She might have eased up on her behavior due to her travels and recent events, but her core, her very essence, had not changed much at all.

Natalia had turned into someone he could no longer love. Asch had gone through so much hell that he simply could no longer see himself in a loving relationship with Natalia. If he did have to marry Natalia after reclaiming what was his, then it would be a union of duty, not of love. Then again, how many people had been forced to marry someone they cared little for only because the Score had dictated so? He was born from one such union anyway. Even to this day, there remained a wall of ice between Duke Fabre and Lady Susanne. If not for her frail health, Susanne might have left the Duke to raise Luke on her own. The wall of ice had most likely turned into a rift at some point, perhaps at how detached the man was to his own son. There was a reason why they slept in separate beds.

Asch actually agreed with his mom there. Then again, maybe his father's perpetual bad mood was the result of years of not getting any action in bed?

He was _so_ going to get his mom a cake when he had the chance.

But Asch was getting sidetracked again. All things considered, it would be better if he could see the dreck without the rest of the party with him. Which meant that it was going to be now or never.

With a sigh, Asch made up his mind and quickly dressed in his traveling gear. It was rather filthy from the day's traveling and fighting, but it was the warmest set of clothing he had. For good measure, he threw on a long dark gray coat and wrapped a scarf around his neck. The rarely used them, because they hindered his mobility, but without the extra layer of warmth provided by his armor, he had to improvise. Once fully clothed, the packed away the rest of his things. He wasn't going to leave them in the empty room for some crummy thief to break in and take them. He had learned that lesson young, and since then found it better to simply carry around all his valuables and personal items with him.

After a quick check around the room to make sure he didn't leave behind anything of his, he left the room, locked the door, and headed once again to Keterburg.

Asch made good time between the cities, especially since he had deliberately evaded monsters. The snowing had picked up as he neared Keterburg, going from a sparse sprinkle to a steady and moderate snowfall. The wind had remained oddly gentle, but it worked into Asch's favor because the visibility was still good, and he could see more than a scant few feet in front of his nose.

Once inside the city proper, Asch dusted off some of the snow that had started to build up on his clothes, as he took in the sight of the city in its element. Even he could acknowledge that Keterburg had a certain charm to it, it was only at nighttime and when it was snowing gently did it simply turn into the stuff of fairy tales. He snorted softly at the notion, and never would he say it in public, but he did think that the city as it was at the moment was both splendid and beautiful. It was shame Kimlaskan cities in general cared little for architecture and aesthetics, unless it was the royal castle, and often just went for practicability and whatever was the need at the moment. That was one thing Malkuth had done right; their cities were much more inviting to the public and pleasant on the eyes.

As Asch looked around, he discovered that there were not many people out on the streets. _'How odd. It's not that late, so how come everyone is already indoors?'_ he spared a thought before just shrugging and continuing on his way towards the distinctive hotel. _'Meh. It's probably just supper time or past store hours. Can't blame them much, it is getting rather chilly.'_

Unlike the rest of the city, the area around the hotel did have more movement. There were a few people going inside the building, and he could see a few adults calling out to their children in the large playground behind the hotel, no doubt heading home for the day. Asch paid them no mind as maneuvered among the crowds, making sure not to crash into any energetic little children. He also kept an eye out for any of Luke's friends. If he could avoid an encounter with them, all the better.

The interior of the hotel was a sight for sore eyes after trekking in the snow. Asch's last trip might have taken less than half an hour, but he had spent better part of the whole day out in the wilderness so it was still a welcoming sight. Several fireplaces brought the large lobby up to a cozy temperature, and between the sound of the ongoing fire and the smell of the logs burning, it was just all that more inviting. Asch took a deep breath and enjoyed the newfound warmth, along with the overall pleasant atmosphere.

It was also at that moment when his stomach reminded him that he had not eaten anything since lunch. Earlier, he had been too tired to care much and had planned to simply fall asleep, but after seeing some of the guests enjoying hot cups of tea and eating various yummy looking cakes and pies, he could no longer resist. _'Oh the hell with it. I'm already here.'_

And so, with a slight mischievous smirk on his face (making sure no one saw him), he boarded the elevator and headed up to the cafeteria. He knew that the prices were a little higher than anywhere else, but the food was really good. Not to mention it had been a long time since he had splurged on anything he really liked. And they had some really good steak there.

Half an hour later, Asch was perhaps the happiest he had been in a long time. Indeed, who would have thought that hot chocolate and apple pie could make the ever frowning god-general smile? Odd enough, Asch usually went through great lengths to make sure no one learned of his little sweet tooth. And now that he was with a full stomach, he could focus on the real reason he had come all the way here, and that was finding Luke.

After paying his bill Asch left the cafeteria and took the elevator up to the 4th floor. He remembered that the replica had said that he was on the fourth floor, but he couldn't remember the exact room number. So he started to walk by the numbered doors in hopes that something ringed a bell.

'_405? No… 406? Uhh, I don't think so. 407? Nope. 408? Hmm. Maybe.' _

Asch debated on whether or not to knock on said door, on the off-chance he ended up meeting someone he did not want to see, and that would lead to making a scene. He had no legitimate reasons to see any of Luke's friends, so seeing any of them would only raise suspicions if not cause an uproar. He swore in his mind at not remembering the exact room number.

Standing outside the room with the small metal plate saying 408, Asch crossed his arms and began thinking of other options. He could technically call out to the dreck via their mind-link, but that tended to be painful on both sides. He knew that Luke got mind shattering headaches bordering on migraines, while for Asch it felt more like he had drunk a whole bottle of high prof. spirits and had the mother of all hangovers, even if it did then to have a two hour or so delay. Asch would rather not risk having the 'hangover' kick in during his walk back to Keterburg Bay, at nighttime and while it was snowing. He wasn't _that_ insane or stupid.

But, there was something else he could do slightly similar to speaking to his replica through mind-link. The process of contacting Luke that way required 3 steps. First he had to open up his fon slots so that the two of them were effectively synchronized. Next he had to create a miniscule, single fonon level hyperresonance. This caused Luke's fonons to unknowingly echo back, allowing Asch to find him no matter where he was in the world, somewhat similar to how bats used echolocation to pinpoint where things were without being able to actually see them. Also, since it was so small, created no damage and passed unnoticed by everyone. The last step required Asch to focus his fonons into creating the actual mind-link. It was that last step that caused the backlashes and headaches. If Asch stopped on the second step, he could figure out where his doppelganger was without having to physically contact him.

'_And why didn't I use that this morning so that I could have evaded both encounters?'_ Asch nearly slapped himself when he realized that, but stopped at the last second in case someone heard him.

After shaking his head clear of remorseful thoughts, Asch focused on using his tiny hyperresonance. It only took him about three seconds to have it down to the correct size and released it. Sure enough, he 'heard' it echoing back from within room 408.

With that success, Asch turned around and knocked on the door twice, with a lot less strength that he usually did. This was not the place or time to kick down the door, grab Luke by the front of his shirt and ask what the hell Luke wanted to give him. This… mission called for a more stealthy approach, hence the uncharacteristic strength behind the knocking. He wasn't sure if the younger red head was sharing the room with anyone. He hoped otherwise, or this was going to get very uncomfortable very quickly. If he did see anyone of the replica's friends so much as start to cause a disturbance, Asch would quickly get out of there.

Asch waited a few seconds to see if he heard any kind of movement from within or the typical 'coming'. He heard nothing except for a slight shifting from what he guessed was the bed. _'He's already asleep this early? What the hell? Or is he just faking it? Sonuva—'_

"Hey dreck. You awake in there?" He asked just loud enough to make sure that the replica would hear him, but still low enough to not disturb the other customers. His voice came out a bit impatient, but that came from glancing both left and right to see if anyone else had risen from their sleep. So far so good.

Asch waited patiently for nearly a minute and was about knock again when he heard the door was unlocked and slipped slightly open. For the third time that day, he say his reflection looking back at him.

"A-Asch?" Luke asked in barely a whisper, hiding mostly behind the door, with only part of his face and a hand holding onto the door's side visible.

Dammit! Those big scared emerald green eyes were making Asch's stomach wrench and turn into knots. With a grimace, Asch squashed any rising feelings and put on his best bored poker face.

"Yes, it's me." He answered, keeping his voice low and void of all emotions. "What was it that you wanted?"

* * *

_**A/N: and that's chapter 2! In the next chapter we will see just what Luke wanted and how will Asch react.**_

_**In case anyone was wondering, Sylvana is the name of the whole island were Keterburg, Keterburg Bay and Mount Roneal are. It's sometimes a pain to figure that out when maps rarely mention the name of the continents, and even the game's map only tells ya where the towns, dungeons and search points are. I guess it can't be helped sometimes. Oh well.**_

_**Until then, reviews and constructing criticism is much appreciated. (And pointing out those devilish typos that always manage to sneak in somehow. I'll correct them asap.)**_


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